Blazen

4/8/2021

The minds of the youth have the ability to absorb and retain more information than any other generation. It is their instinctual capabilities to remain unbiased that leads them to this unknown success. Having no previous opinions to restrict the knowledge being presented, young individuals can assess situations with not only clarity but with honesty. Although within this neutrality that adolescents possess, persuasion can conform the youth into a person of someone else’s liking. Their lack in experience leaves them rootless to the world, however their intellect is not impaired. It is in this time that a useful potential can be seen, this same idea is exaggerated in the novel Ender’s Game, a young boy is persuaded into becoming an unstoppable force in a futuristic military. The current youth have all the tools to reach a realistic approach on this book. Raising the question, can and should adolescences be entrusted with any form of military power?

Dillon

4/11/2021 09:15:00 am

War situations would be extremely stressful and must have a worthy commander calling shots. It takes years of experience and training to rise to a place where military power could be achieved. Most adolescents have not experienced any form of an actual war situation. They would not be trusted by those around them and they would lack much needed ethos with those they would have power over. In a life or death situation commands might be questioned because of the adolescent’s lack of experience, leading to casualties that would have been avoided had someone with more experience been in charge. Instead of putting adolescents somewhere they are likely to fail, they should use their years of youth to learn and gain experience that obtaining military power requires. Doing this would set up our military for more success and would better prepare youth for the demanding and stressful job they will likely have sometime in their future.

Johnathon Simmons

4/11/2021 04:41:17 pm

In the situation of youth being implemented into the military, I think you're take that they should be taught first is a good idea. Overall though, should children be allowed to be recruited for training purposes?

Blazen

4/11/2021 05:40:02 pm

Sounds like a knock off slavery. Force children to do something they don’t want so they can run a militia? Corruption would be super easy.

Sam

4/11/2021 07:36:26 pm

The ability to make quick and insightful decisions in a high-stress situation can only come with years of first hand experience. Since adolescent's fail to have this background, it can lead to deadly and unsafe outcomes in a military setting.

Caden

4/11/2021 07:55:26 pm

Kids cannot handle the stress of choosing which lives end and which people survive. Even more so children do not have the experience to know exactly what life is like. They may take far too many risks since they don’t value their short lives.

Johnathon Simmons

4/11/2021 04:38:20 pm

Youth should not be entrusted with military power for some of the same reasons suggested in the prompt. Youth are not rooted in the world enough to make the kind of decisions that alter lives, battles, history, and potentially the world. Most children aren't capable of reasonable decision making either. The frontal lobe, the part of the brain associated with decision making, develops well through adolescence and isn't finished developing until one has progressed into their adult years. In most cases, children aren't left alone until their into their mid to late teenage years. How can a generation that can't be trusted with themselves or with other's be trusted with a military of any size?

Dillon

4/11/2021 05:50:14 pm

A generation that can’t be trusted cannot be in power in the military. People who are too young to make quality decisions on their own should not be trusted with military power.

Sam

4/11/2021 07:33:15 pm

People of that young age are still in a point of their lives where they are figuring out their own responsibilities. It was well stated when you said it would be hard to trust them with military power when they have a hard time trusting themselves.

Will

4/11/2021 07:54:47 pm

It is at this time that the youth is vulnerable, as they can easily be educated and molded into a military prodigy. Children are easy to manipulate because they have no prior biases, making them a better candidate than an illiterate high schooler.

Mackay Williams

4/13/2021 04:10:16 pm

Children at a young age cannot make these kind of decisions by themselves because of their lack of education in the world.

Blazen

4/11/2021 05:42:48 pm

Exactly. Younger generations, especially nowadays, are awful at decisive decision-making. At the same time, trusting them with military power might be kind of cool to see.

Sam

4/11/2021 07:24:19 pm

The power that the military holds through the complex branches of leadership and intensive training is that of which only someone with years of knowledge and personal confrontation could attain. Moving up in the ranks in the military takes time and skill and with that also comes experience. In the society we live in today, young children and even those of adolescent age are sheltered and given responsibilities at a slower pace then what may have been acceptable even one hundred years ago. To answer the question specifically, children and teens who lived in a time in history where it was mandatory for them to "grow up" faster in order for them to thrive may have the mental and even physical tools to be successful in a powerful military position, but from what can be seen of the youth today, it would be safer to leave such tasks to older and more mature individuals.

Dillon

4/11/2021 07:39:07 pm

Leaving tougher tasks to older more experienced people would be best. It would allow the younger people to mature before taking on those jobs, and would ensure that experienced people are making the big decisions.

Will

4/11/2021 07:47:20 pm

I side with you on the idea that children are not as mature, therefore they shouldn't be trusted with such power. My only thought is that this immaturity could lead to new and successful strategies. Better yet it could lead to peace.

Johnathon Simmons

4/11/2021 08:05:02 pm

Though the more experience the better, when you say that "[it] would be more beneficial to have a person who has survived more life or death situations in control of the lives of the public" I ask, are those kinds of experiences vital or necessary to a successful military leader?

Will

4/11/2021 07:43:06 pm

For anyone to gain any military power they must be trustworthy with the knowledge and strength they possess. To reach a rank in the military where one has authority over others one must have already proved their abilities to stay steadfast and lead in a way that benefits the military as a whole. Anyone is capable and anyone should be able to obtain power if they fit the position better than others do. Not allowing the adequate youth to wield power in the military will not be beneficial to the military or America in any way.

Caden

4/11/2021 07:56:42 pm

Experience is the only reason generals are qualified for leadership in the military. Children are unable to understand what is involved in the military,

Eli

4/11/2021 10:00:59 pm

What about just being in a war in general excluding a rank is that not still morally wrong?

Caden Caywood

4/11/2021 07:53:02 pm

If any country got to the point where they thought it was a good idea to give a child some form of military power, they should just accept that they have no chance for success and give up. Although some children are brilliant, most are not capable of commanding any group with the ability to end lives. All generals are older and very experienced to get to where they are.

Eli

4/11/2021 09:59:45 pm

That is a good point but what if their was something so horrifically wrong and a child was the only way to save us all.

Eli

4/11/2021 09:57:59 pm

The use of children in the military should never be allowed. While children do have a manipulative mental aspect and if fighting for something you strongly believe it may seem like a good idea, but morally it is devastating. Children can manipulate people because of their innocence but it is because of there pure mind that we can not corrupt them to the ideas of war.

Mackay Williams

4/13/2021 04:08:10 pm

Delivering adolescences into the military is a situation that one must never be put through. The physical demands of the military are extremely rigorous, and mentally these young people would fail. Besides that, if we take a look at the youth in our country, possibly taking military positions, the “list” consists of those who are obese, taking drugs, and lack a GED, or even, a high school diploma. There are few who are eligible and worthy of being in such positions, the numbers and quality of people are dwindling. We are not preparing youth to understand the importance of military positions and the work it takes behind the scenes. Not only that, kids with developing minds do not have the capacity to make critical decisions. Making it almost impossible to let the youth serve as our leaders.

Blazen

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